Women take part in the environmental movement

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. William McCall
  • 90th Force Support Squadron
F.E. WARREN AIR FORCE BASE, Wyo. --  It's as basic as keeping the air we breathe clean and the water we drink pure, and it's as politically knotty as halting construction of incinerators in the inner city and reducing population growth in developing nations.

Environmental activism comes in many guises but shares one common trait -- it has increasingly become women's work.

"Women are now taking their place side-by-side and equal to men," said Barbara Bramble, National Wildlife Federation international office director. The environmental glass ceiling has chipped and splintered in the last 15 years; where the top slots were once completely dominated by men, women now hold key policymaking positions at organizations like Greenpeace, The Sierra Club, The National Audubon Society, NWF, The Wilderness Society, The Humane Society of the U.S. and The League of Conservation Voters.

The women have not just entered the halls of power; they are achieving significant successes there.

In Congress, California Senator Barbara Boxer strengthened the Safe Drinking Water Act. Before retiring last year, Colorado Representative Pat Schroeder wrote legislation transforming a military Superfund site into a wildlife refuge.

Since Katherine Fuller became president of The World Wildlife Fund seven years ago, the organization has doubled its revenue and membership, helped secure an ivory ban, promoted the debt-for-nature swaps in Asia and Latin America and developed an environmental educational program called "Windows on the Wild," which is currently being introduced into middle school curricula around the country.

While part of the power shift is easily attributable to the women's movement and society's overall breakthrough in the last quarter-century, a major reason for this flourishing has been the evolution of the environmental movement.

A generation ago, concerns about conservation held the spotlight.

"It was all about outdoor activities, hunting, fishing and hiking ... very male activities," said Barbara Dudley, Greenpeace. "But in the last quarter century, the light has shined equally brightly on health and urban issues like clean air and safe drinking water. As the environmental movement has come to include an environmental health movement it has come to include women in leadership."

There is, however, much enduring chauvinism and the pace of advancement is excruciatingly slow, she added. Many men are reluctant to share power and, equally significant, to adapt the approach to environmentalism and to negotiating generally favored by women.

Still, the progress is undeniable and has inspired even more women to become involved, paving the way for even greater change. While there are definitely women involved in traditional male activities, Bramble says, it is still not the norm and most women join causes because of concerns over health-related and community-related problems. When chemicals in the atmosphere affect fertility issues, she explains, "that strikes a personal chord."

It is this personal cord that directly connects the environmental women's activism movement to the influential roles that women are playing in the political, economical, social aspects of environmental growth and restructuring.

So the next time you think about the small things like recycling, using less energy and just plain going green, look down at your daughter, niece or little sister, because they could be the ones enforcing these policies one day.